A fuel truck carries fuel into a fracking site past the warning signs Jan. 27, 2016 near Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Credit: J Pat Carter/Getty

For more than three decades, the U.S. government has mismanaged toxic oil and gas waste containing carcinogens, heavy metals, and radioactive materials, according to a new Earthworks report—and with the country on track to continue drilling and fracking for fossil fuels, the advocacy group warns of growing threats to the planet and public health.

“Despite over 30 years of research about the toxic impacts of the industry’s waste, it is far from being handled properly.”
—Still Wasting Away

“Even if we stop all new drilling and fracking immediately, the flood of toxic waste streams will continue to grow for decades,” Melissa Troutman, the report’s lead author, said in a statement Tuesday. “In spite of industry claims of innovation, the risks from oil and gas waste are getting worse, not better.”

Building on a 2015 Earthworks analysis, Still Wasting Away (pdf) details congressional and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) actions as well as industry lobbying […]